For Science

42812GO

I have spent many years complaining about how I look and that I don't like my body. I thought that I was fat at 90 pounds in high school. However, I am now actually over weight..hooray...I need to make a change in my lifestyle and in my health. I really just need to take time for myself and become comfortable again. Oh and I am going to be a MOH in two weddings next year...kicked up the motivation a little!

So back to "For Science" I am a human bio major and I wanted to set up an experiment for myself. How quickly can I make the physical changes to my body? If I adhere to a strict healthy diet and workout regimen how long will it take to no longer be obese or even just overweight?! I know that the slower you lose the easier it is to maintain and blah blah. But it isn't a quick fix that I am designing for myself, it's going to be hard...so I was wondering if other people wanted to join me! The more support the better. Any plan for weight loss is welcome as well as speed of results. A support group would be awesome.

Here's my plan and stats:
Female aged 27
5'0
SW:162
CW: 155
GW: 120ish
I would like to have a majority of the weight off by May 2014
I plan on starting this whole routine December 9th mostly because it is the day my class is over. I will have Staturdays. They will be the only day that I weigh myself and take measurements and pictures. I will be starting Insanity (again...never completed it) and keep towards my paleo diet.

Let me know if you would like to form a support group

Ian_Stuart

Ok. I'm in! Here is what science tells us. Burning calories is easy. Cardio does that very well with HIIT cardio edging out long, steady state cardio by an distinct, but indeterminate margin. Losing weight; however, is not the be all, end all of fitness. Muscle mass must be generated as well. This is most efficiently done by movement under load, with greater loads providing increasing gains. Lean muscle mass burns a greater amount of calories per lb than fat, while occupying less space (muscle is more dense) so increasing your lean muscle mass increases your resting metabolism allowing for greater food intake while maintaining the same caloric deficit.
Speaking of caloric deficit, there are two main schools of thought on the matter. The MFP school calculates your sedentary TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and then has you track your exercise and add calories to your day based on your caloric outputs. The standard TDEE method is to calculate your daily calories including normal exercise routine and simply eat above (for gaining) or below (for losing) every day without variance. 20% above or below is the typically agreed upon number for efficiency and sustainability with larger differentials possible for short times, but not suggested.
Any questions thus far?

Almost forgot to include my favorite linky thing! http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

42812GO

Nope! Got that whole part down for myself.

Part of the GW being 120ish is to account for the muscle that I will be building. I understand that will come into account later. I would rather weigh in the 140s and be in shape than just be skinny at 120. So the GW is an "ish"

I am going with the standard TDEE. I will have to recalculate it once I start to workout with Insanity again. I have a generalized idea of what I will be burning from previous trials of Insanity.

Now I'm just waiting for the time to pass...with tons of studying for my A&P2 final! I will be working on getting my eating cleaner and moving back to paleo. Today was horrible, but that's OK, I'm just moving on!

Ian_Stuart

Ok! Great! You are already way up the curve on most here then. So you don't really need a plan, just company? Very well then, I like that role too!

Mr_Knight

I know that the slower you lose the easier it is to maintain...

That's not actually true. There is no empirical evidence to support that commonly stated belief.

Ian_Stuart

That's not actually true. There is no empirical evidence to support that commonly stated belief.

I always interpreted this to be mostly psychological. The greater your calorie deficit, the harder it is to will yourself to keep up with it. Though there are metabolic changes that occur if you eat WAY below your TDEE for too long that try to keep hold of every calorie you consume to protect you from what your body assumes must be famine conditions.

richardheath

For science... and yet paleo? You do know that's total pseudoscience, right?

btw - 2lb per week is generally considered safe max weight loss if you have lots to lose. Lose faster, and you will lose lean body mass. For you, 1 or 0.5 might be more reasonable. Still, in 6 months, that could be 24 lb. Not too shabby. If that's not fast enough, invent a time machine. Lift heavy (for maximal results), or do other resistance training.

Ian_Stuart

For science... and yet paleo? You do know that's total pseudoscience, right?

http://www.yaboga.com/paleo-metabolic.pdf

Actual science. I'm not sure what that site is, but you can also get the article from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition if you want to pay $30. http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v63/n8/full/ejcn20094a.html

Results: Compared with the baseline (usual) diet, we observed (a)significant reductionsin BP associated with improved arterial
distensibility (!3.1±2.9, P¼0.01 and þ0.19±0.23, P¼0.05);(b) significant reduction in plasma insulin vs time AUC, during
the OGTT (P¼0.006); and (c) large significant reductions in total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides
(!0.8±0.6 (P¼0.007), !0.7±0.5 (P¼0.003) and !0.3±0.3 (P¼0.01) mmol/l respectively). In all these measured variables,
either eight or all nine participants had identical directional responses when switched to paleolithic type diet, that is, near
consistently improved status of circulatory, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism/physiology.
Conclusions: Even short-term consumption of a paleolithic type diet improves BP and glucose tolerance, decreases insulin
secretion, increases insulin sensitivity and improves lipid profiles without weight loss in healthy sedentary humans.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 11 February 2009; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.4

42812GO

Because eating mostly healthy protein, veggies, and fruit is total pseudoscience...most studies are paid by corporations like ConAgra so I don't believe most of that research anyway. I choose to go with paleo because I have a grain intolerance and dairy isn't great for me either. Personally it works for me. I lost almost 8 pounds and a number of issues that I was having went away and only return if I go back to the Standard American Diet (SAD). It is a very healthy way to eat and I feel great when I stick to it. Also, it isn't much a diet for me, I am not perfect but I am slowing changing my eating habits to a lifestyle change. I don't plan on not eating plaeo for more that special occasions.